The Co Derry man who was best known for his award-winning roles in the television drama 'Bloody Sunday' and ITV's 'Cold Feet' has now gained worldwide recognition for his role playing a dwarf in 'The Hobbit' series of films.

The second of the trilogy, 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' was released worldwide last month and has generated more than $750m in box-office receipts.

New accounts lodged with the UK-based Companies House by Nesbitt's Brown Cow Films Ltd show that accumulated profits at the firm increased by £280,000 (€338,373) to £2.185m in the 12 months to the end of March 31 last.

The firm's cash pile reduced substantially to €50,537 from €459,507, with debtors also reducing to €876,028 from €1.69m.

However, this is explained by the firm transferring €1.35m into unspecified investments last year.

The 2013 performance follows a strong performance by the firm in 2012 when profits increased by over €500,000.

Nesbitt initially had ambitions of being a teacher, but dropped out of his college course to pursue a career in acting.

A native of Ballymena, Co Antrim, who subsequently grew up in Coleraine, Co Derry, Nesbitt stars as the character Bofur in Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit' series.

In a recent interview about his role, Mr Nesbitt said: "It was actually hugely rewarding, understanding that even without huge individual speeches or scenes, you were contributing to a rich tapestry.

"But they managed to give 13 dwarfs 13 different personalities that all work well together and have individual stories. You sometimes feel like you're a small cog in a very big machine, but I'm very glad I did it."

Nesbitt confirmed that he is returning to New Zealand in May for the filming of the third 'Hobbit' movie.